Fête des Lumières in Lyon, France

If you’re looking for a “must-do” travel excursion, why not the Festival of Lightsa Lione, France. Se hai letto questo blog, you will have figured out that I’m somewhat of a Francophile…and that I have a special place in my heart for Lyon. There are various reasons for that, mainly its people,il cibo, andits history. But it is also the core of the city that makes it so great. In NYC there was an uproar when Bloomberg campaigned to overturn the term limits and was elected to a third term in office. Lyon’s mayor, Gérard Collomb, has been around since 2001 (that’s 12 years), and it seems that the people of Lyon love him. I heard nothing but good things about this mayor, and the city reflects his leadership. Lyon is clean, functional, welcoming, and affluent. It has also been making a huge push towards tourism, which has apparently paid off because the city was booming during the Festival of Lights this past December. Before I move on, I will let you know that the city gets crowded during the festival…very crowded. This is usually a negative for me. However, the people of Lyon keep the city clean, tourists are safe, e l'aria nella città è di revelry controllata. The Festival of Lights would NEVER work in the US. Here, saremmo finiti con rapine, drunken fights, and most likely people would end up in hospitals. In Lyon, people rejoice, drink vin chaud, have a great time and all manage to do so without screwing things up. We could learn a few things from them. La Fête des Lumières di Lione è alla pari con il Carnevale di Rio e l'Oktoberfest a Monaco di Baviera, just more orderly. An early holiday visit to Lyon will allow you to experience this truly breathtaking, and spiritually rooted, event. Two of the unique features of this festival that are unusual for European festivals are that the events take place at night, and that the festival itself takes place in the winter. This means you better have some pretty good Under Armour, comfortable shoes, and a really good coat.

Festa delle luci

What started as a one-day feast has now expanded over four days. The tradition dates back to 1653 and is intended to express gratitude toward Mary the Mother of Jesus for sparing the city from a great plague. The event peaks with a solemn procession to the Basilica of Notre Dame de Fourviere (known as “The Soul of Lyon”) on December 8 which in the Roman Catholic tradition celebrates the Feast of the Immaculate Conception. Traditionally, during these four days, homes would place candles in all the exterior-facing windows. Nowadays, homes go all out to bedeck their homes in lights, businesses get creative with their displays, e gli edifici più famosi della città calzano spettacoli leggeri accompagnati da musica e fuochi d'artificio. I have never seen anything like it. Over the four nights, the festival provides a different theme and color scheme to create a unique experience. Over four million tourists come to Lyon to see this stunning effect. The festival has now expanded to include other activities all centering on light. From its humble beginnings, the event has become an elaborate production that has designers from all over the world lending their talent to the event. The vibrant lighting has been enhanced by video, music, and sound effects that add to the experience.

How to Work It

Lyon is kinda like NYC. Voglio dire, se si sta cercando di aggirare. You’ve got an island surrounded by two cities (Manhattan & Lyon’s 1st, 2nd & 4th Arrondissements). What would be Queens/Brooklyn is over on the 3rd, 6th, 7th & 8th Arrondissements. Jersey would be the 5th & 9th. This makes it pretty easy for those familiar with NYC to move around town. Anche se Lione è terzo più grande città della Francia, è normalmente abbastanza calma. The population booms during the festival. Expect the city to be crowded and plan your light show itinerary accordingly. Bring cash so you can enjoy goodies like vin chaud (mulled wine), roasted chestnuts, and plenty of delicious street foods. Also, make sure to wear warm clothes. The festival takes place in December, so you can expect the city to be cold. Ho aggiunto alcuni suggerimenti di base per rendere la vita più facile alla festa al fondo del post, so make sure to check those out.

Parc de la Tête d'Or: (6th Arrondissement) – Chinese Corner – The theme this year was the “Chinese Corner”, executed by Studio 3003. It was spectacular. The trees were bedecked in Chinese lanterns and you could go to the lake and set a candle to float on the water on a lily pad as you made a wish.

Tunnel Croix Rousse: (1st Arrondissement) – Anamorphose – This past year, Hélène Richard and Jean-Michel Quesne who are part of Skertzò designed the show at the Tunnel. Questo sarà unpermanent installation, so if you want to check it out, you still can. If you do decide to check this one now, give yourself about 25 minutes to watch the whole show.

Rue Royale: (1st Arrondissement) – Let’s Stroll in the Woods –

Bergers du Rhone – Pont Morand: (1st/6th Arrondissement) –Le Village Dans Le Ciel – These charming homes in the sky recall a magical wonderland where I imagined forest dwellers would have relocated after their homes were replaced by the city.

Rhone – Up the Walkway to the College: (1st Arrondissement) – Les Crayons de Coleur – These crayons floated on the Rhone as if a giant child had dropped his box of colors on the Rhone.

Rue de La Republique – Nord: (1st Arrondissement) – Lumiere Verticale – The trees in the rue de la République were bedecked with hanging “lumitubes” that added whimsy to the city as they led to Serenade and the show over by the Hotel De Ville.

Place des Terreaux: (1st Arrondissement) – Le Prince des Lumieres – Compositore / regista Damien Fontaine won the Trophée des Lumières (trophy of lights) for his telling of the story of the Prince of Lights.

Quais de Saone – by Palais de Justice: (5th Arrondissement) – Allebrilles – Les Grandes Personnes created these gorgeous Marionettes to reflect the Lyonnaise tradition of Gadagne. The marionettes were colorful, bright and reminded me of bioluminescent creatures of the deep.

Quais de Saone: (5th Arrondissement) – Le Grand Orchestre de Fourviere – I saw this one possibly 4 times. I could not get away from its grandiosity. One watched from the banks of the Saône as the orchestra played a selection from Lawrence of Arabia. The Fourviere Church, Parc des Hauteurs, Palais de Justice, e anche il ponte di parcheggio vicino al fiume erano sotto la direzione sapiente di Jean-Luc Hervé .

Place des Jacobins: (2nd Arrondissement) – Showcase – The fountain at the Place des Jacobins was covered in a translucent cube that was used to display its beauty throughout the year in a game of lights and geometry. It was a kaleidoscope of sorts to showcase its daily existence and beauty.

Hotel-Dieux: (2nd Arrondissement) – Caresses Climatiques – The hotel Dieux (site of the old hospital) was a festival of light and texture as raindrops were actualized by strands of light reminiscent of a bead curtain.

Terrases de la Guilloterie: (7th Arrondissement) – Mikado Celeste – Fluorescent sculptures made of sticks vibrated in tune with the music in a melody of color. They sat atop water that reflected their dance.

Rue Auguste Comte: (2nd Arrondissement) – Labo des Aspho – I saw these as they were being put up. They looked like ghosts or spirits coming out of the walls.

Place Bellecour: (2nd Arrondissement) – Pierrot Le Fou – This was my second favorite after the Lawrence of Arabia piece at Fourviere Hill. Inserite Ferris Wheel di Bellecour ha raccontato una storia surreale di un bambino. There were fireworks, fire dancers and much more to get your heart pumping.

Place Gailleton: (2nd Arrondissement) – L’abime – As its name suggest this abyss was full of mystery.

Hotel de la Region: (2nd Arrondissement) – Grid – As its name so aptly implies, this show was all about geometry, light, e griglie.

Pole de Loisir: (2nd Arrondissement) – Water Light Graffiti – This one was made of lots of LEDs that would light up when they touched water. E pregò per essere giocato con e toccato. Mi piacerebbe avere un muro come questo a casa.

Amphiteatre des 3 Gaules: (1st Arrondissement) – 40 Hexaedres – Cute, small and fun. This one was made up of 4 lines of ten cubes that danced around as if in a futuristic dance hall.

Montee de la Grande Cote: (1st Arrondissement) – Un Printemps en Hiver – The lights of this installation were meant to bring a touch of Spring to wintery Lyon. Instead of flowers, trees were dressed up in lights.

Book Lodging Early: It’s important to plan your trip early. Hotels, particularly the budget hotels, will fill up early. You’ll also have to realize that although the events happen at night, they tend to end “early” because of the weather. Io non sono un fan di alberghi, so I usually stay in an Airbnb apartment. Stephane is an amazing host and his flat is gorgeous. You will love it.

Bring Warm Clothing: Lyon is located in northern France, near the Alps and get quite cold in early December. There are also two rivers which make the city colder. Make sure to layer up and bring hats, scarves, and gloves. I even bring hand warmers, fa freddo là fuori e se siete congelamento non sarà in grado di godere di te stesso.

Wear Comfortable Shoes: Sarete a piedi la città, so skip the heels and get yourself some nice walking shoes, but skip the sneakers – only American tourists wear these & you’ll definitely stick out.

Book Restaurants Early: And I mean at least a month in advance. Most restaurants will be packed if you wait until the last minute and it would be a shame if you miss out on the amazing restaurants in Lyon. It is, after all, the capitale gastronomica della Francia.

What to Eat: As mentioned above, you will not go hungry here. I suggest you try roasted chestnuts (they kinda taste like bacon – makes sense since good pork is fed chestnuts), sausage sandwiches, shawarmas, and vin chaud. Also, molti ristoranti venderanno piatti di una mezza dozzinafine de claire oysters with a glass of white wine at somewhere between 5 to 10 euros. A steal if you ask me.

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About Me

My name is Blanca and I run a few startups called FriendsEAT and Socialdraft. I travel alot. I have lived in 10+ countries and visited over 30+. Currently I live in Lisboa, Portugal. You can follow my thoughts and experiences on this blog. Hope to hear from you.